Surrogate patch assembly for a rework area of a composite structure

ABSTRACT

A surrogate patch assembly for a rework area of a structure comprises a surrogate patch body which may be formed of a material for drawing moisture from the rework area. The patch assembly may include a sensor mounted to the surrogate patch body. The sensor may comprise a thermal sensor for sensing the temperature of the rework area and the surrogate patch body. The sensor may comprise a moisture sensor for sensing moisture drawn into the surrogate patch body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to pending U.S. application Ser. No.12/633,753, entitled METHOD OF REPAIRING A COMPOSITE STRUCTURE and filedon Dec. 8, 2009, the entire contents of which is incorporated byreference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to structural repair and, moreparticularly, to operations performed in preparation for the repair ofcomposite structures.

BACKGROUND

Composite materials are used in ever increasing amounts in a widevariety of applications. For example, commercial aircraft areincorporating increasing amounts of composite materials into primary andsecondary structure due to the favorable mechanical properties ofcomposite materials. Such favorable properties may translate into areduction in weight and an increase in payload capacity and fuelefficiency. In addition, composite materials may provide an extendedservice life for the aircraft as compared to aircraft formed of metallicconstruction.

Rework is occasionally required on composite structures in order toremove an inconsistency. An inconsistency may comprise a crack, adelamination, a void, a dent, porosity or other inconsistencies in thecomposite structure. An inconsistency may require rework when theinconsistency falls outside of desired tolerances. The removal of theinconsistency may require the reworking of an area in the compositestructure containing the inconsistency by removing a portion of thecomposite structure containing the inconsistency and replacing theremoved material with a patch. The patch may be formed as a stack ofplies of composite material of the same or different type from which thecomposite structure is formed. The stacking sequence and fiberorientation of the composite plies in the patch may correspond to thestacking sequence and fiber orientation of the plies that make up thecomposite structure.

After assembling the patch from the stack of plies, the patch istypically bonded to the rework area with adhesive installed at thebondline between the patch and the rework area. Heat and pressure aretypically applied to the patch such as with a heating blanket and avacuum bag. The heating blanket may be used to elevate the bondline tothe appropriate adhesive curing temperature. The vacuum bag may be usedto consolidate the patch. During curing, the bondline may be held withina relatively narrow temperature range for a predetermined period of timein order to fully cure the adhesive. Furthermore, the entire area of thebondline may be held within the temperature range without substantialvariation across the bondline.

Prior to bonding the patch to the rework area, a thermal survey may berequired for the rework area. The thermal survey may be required toidentify locations of non-uniform heating of the rework area by theheating blanket. Non-uniform heating may be caused by adjacent structurethat may act as a heat sink drawing heat away from localized portions ofthe rework area resulting in differential heating of the bondline. Inthis regard, the thermal survey may provide a means for identifying hotand cold spots in the rework area such that adjustments can be made byadding temporary insulation to the composite structure and/or byadjusting the heating from the heating blanket until the temperature iswithin the required range.

A conventional thermal survey process may require assembling a surrogatepatch that is a duplicate of the patch that is to be permanently bondedto the composite structure. In this regard, the conventional surrogatepatch is formed of the same type of composite material and with the samenumber of plies as the final patch. Construction of a conventionalsurrogate patch is a time-consuming and labor-intensive processtypically requiring hand-cutting of multiple composite plies each havinga unique size and shape for each one of the rework area plies to bereplaced. After the thermal survey, the conventional surrogate patch istypically discarded following a single use.

In addition to the thermal survey, a moisture removal process may berequired to remove unwanted moisture from the rework area in order toimprove the final bond between the patch and the rework area by reducingthe risk of porosity within the bondline. A conventional moistureremoval process comprises a drying cycle and may be required oncomposite structure that has been in service for a certain period oftime and/or when certain adhesives are used in the repair process.

Unfortunately, the conventional drying cycle typically requires morethan 24 hours to complete which may exceed the amount of time that maybe available for rework operations performed in the field such as onin-service aircraft. Furthermore, the conventional practice ofperforming the thermal survey and drying cycle as two separate processesresults in the application of two heating cycles on the compositestructure which may affect the service life. Even further, theconventional thermal survey requires the labor-intensive andtime-consuming process of fabricating the conventional surrogate patchafter which the surrogate patch is discarded following a single use. Inthis regard, the materials for forming the composite surrogate patch maybe relatively costly depending upon the amount and type of materialused.

As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a system and methodfor performing a thermal survey which obviates the need for fabricatinga duplicate of the final patch. Furthermore, there exists a need in theart for a system and method for performing a moisture removal process ona rework area on composite structure that avoids the application of anadditional heat cycle on the composite structure.

SUMMARY

The above-noted needs associated with the thermal survey and moistureremoval of rework areas of composite structure are addressed byproviding a surrogate patch assembly that obviates the need for aduplicate of the final patch. The surrogate patch assembly mayfacilitate the rework of the structure by including a surrogate patchbody formed of a material for drawing moisture from the rework area. Thesurrogate patch body may include at least one sensor mounted to thesurrogate patch body. The sensor may be configured as a thermal sensorfor sensing a temperature of at least the rework area and/or thesurrogate patch body. The sensor may also be configured as a moisturesensor for sensing moisture that has been drawn from the rework area bythe material of the surrogate patch body.

In a further embodiment, disclosed is a surrogate patch assembly for arework area of a composite structure wherein the surrogate patchassembly comprises a surrogate patch body having top and bottom surfacesand defining a substantially uniform thickness. The surrogate patch bodymay be formed of felt for drawing moisture from the rework area. Thefelt may have a thermal conductivity of approximately 0.01 to 1.0 W/mKand a specific heat capacity of approximately 600 to 1100 J/(kgK). Thesurrogate patch assembly may include a plurality of thermal sensorsmounted to the surrogate patch body for sensing a temperature of therework area and the surrogate patch body. At least one of the thermalsensors may be embedded within the surrogate patch body between the topand bottom surfaces. A plurality of moisture sensors may be mounted tothe surrogate patch body on the top surface for sensing moistureabsorbed from the rework area.

Also disclosed is a surrogate patch system for repairing a structurewith a patch that is receivable within a rework area. The surrogatepatch system may comprise a surrogate patch body formed of non-compositematerial having thermal properties that may be substantially similar tothermal properties of the patch. The thermal properties may comprisespecific heat capacity and/or thermal conductivity. The surrogate patchsystem may include at least one thermal sensor mounted to the surrogatepatch body for sensing a temperature thereof. The surrogate patch systemmay include at least one moisture sensor for sensing moisture drawn fromthe rework area. In addition, the surrogate patch system may include atleast one thermal sensor mounted on the rework area for sensing atemperature thereof.

In addition, disclosed is a method of repairing a composite structurehaving upper and lower surfaces. The method may comprise the steps offorming a surrogate patch body of material for drawing moisture from arework area of the composite structure. The method may include mountingat least one sensor on the surrogate patch body and mounting at leastone thermal sensor in the rework area. The surrogate patch body may beinstalled in the rework area. The method may include performing at leastone of a thermal survey of the rework area and/or removal of moisturefrom the rework area into the surrogate patch body.

In a further embodiment, disclosed is a method of repairing a compositestructure having upper and lower surfaces. The method may comprise thesteps of forming a surrogate patch body of material for drawing moisturefrom a rework area of the composite structure. The material may have aspecific heat capacity and a thermal conductivity that may besubstantially similar to the specific heat capacity and thermalconductivity of the patch. The method may further include mounting athermal sensor on the surrogate patch body for sensing a temperature ofat least one of the rework area and the surrogate patch body. The methodmay also include mounting a moisture sensor on the surrogate patch bodyfor sensing moisture drawn from the rework area. A thermal sensor mayalso be mounted on the upper surface of the composite structure oppositea location of the heat sink on the lower surface. A thermal sensor maybe mounted on a bottom center and/or on a scarf of the rework area.

The method may further include covering the rework area with a partingfilm and installing the surrogate patch body in the rework area over theparting film. The method may also include covering the surrogate patchbody with a porous parting film and breather layer, installing a heatingblanket over the breather layer, and installing a breather layer overthe heating blanket. The surrogate patch body and heating blanket may bevacuum bagged to the upper surface of the structure with a bagging film.The rework area may be heated and a vacuum may be drawn on the baggingfilm. The method may include performing at least one of a thermal surveyof the rework area and/or removal of moisture from the rework area.

The features, functions and advantages that have been discussed can beachieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosureor may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of whichcan be seen with reference to the following description and drawingsbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the present disclosure will become moreapparent upon reference to the drawings wherein like numbers refer tolike parts throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a portion of a compositestructure having a rework area formed therein;

FIG. 2 is a top view illustration of a composite structure having avacuum bag assembly and heating blanket installed over a patch mountedwithin the rework area;

FIG. 3 is a sectional illustration of the vacuum bag assembly mounted tothe composite structure taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and illustratinga heat sink comprising a stringer located on a lower surface of thecomposite structure opposite a portion of the rework area;

FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional illustration of a surrogate patch systemcomprising a surrogate patch body formed as a plurality of layersarranged in stacked formation;

FIG. 5 is an exploded sectional illustration of the surrogate patch bodyformed as a unitary structure;

FIG. 6 is a top view illustration of the surrogate patch assembly takenalong line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and illustrating a plurality of thermal sensorsand moisture sensors mounted to the surrogate patch body and compositestructure;

FIG. 7 is an exploded sectional illustration of the vacuum bag assemblyas may be installed over the surrogate patch assembly for conducting athermal survey of the rework area;

FIG. 8 is a sectional illustration of an embodiment of the surrogatepatch assembly mounted within the rework area under application of avacuum during a moisture removal process;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a surrogate patch system;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a flow diagram for a methodology forrepairing a composite structure;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an aircraft production and servicemethodology; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an aircraft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating preferred and various embodiments of the disclosure onlyand not for purposes of limiting the same, shown in FIG. 1 is aperspective illustration of a composite structure 10 upon which a repairprocess may be implemented using a surrogate patch assembly asillustrated in FIGS. 4-9. More specifically, the preparation of a reworkarea 20 may include a thermal survey and/or a moisture removal processwhich may employ the surrogate patch assembly 50 (FIGS. 4-9) asdisclosed herein and which may be fabricated of low-cost material in arelatively short period of time as will be described in greater detailbelow.

In FIG. 1-2, the composite structure 10 may include a skin 14 formed ofplies 12 of composite material and wherein the skin 14 may have upperand lower surfaces 16, 18. The composite structure 10 may include therework area 20 formed in the skin 14 and from which composite materialmay be removed in preparation for receiving a patch 40. As can be seenin FIG. 3, the rework area 20 may be formed in the upper surface 16 andmay extend at least partially through the skin 14 although the reworkarea 20 may be formed in the lower surface 18 and/or may extend througha thickness of the skin 14. Various heat sinks 28 may be mounted to thelower surface 18 opposite the rework area 20 such as, withoutlimitation, stringers, stiffeners, and spars which may draw heat awayfrom the rework area 20 during the repair.

For example, FIGS. 2-3 illustrate a stringer 30 mounted to a lowersurface 18 and having flanges 32 that extend along a portion of therework area 20 on a right-hand side thereof and which may draw heat awayfrom the rework area 20. The remainder of the rework area 20 may lackany structure which would otherwise draw heat away from the rework area20. In this regard, the thermal survey may assist in identifyinglocations of a bondline 46 (FIG. 3) between the patch 40 and the reworkarea 20 that require a greater amount of heat input relative to otherareas of the bondline. The thermal survey may also assist in identifyinglocations of the rework area 20 that may require the temporaryapplication of insulation to the composite structure 10 in order toattain substantial temperature uniformity throughout the bondline 46(FIG. 3).

Shown in FIGS. 2-3 is a vacuum bag assembly 100 for use during the finalrepair process or during pre-repair operations of the thermal surveyand/or moisture removal process. The vacuum bag assembly 100 maycomprise a heating blanket 104 or other heating equipment. The heatingblanket 104 may include wiring 106 coupled to a power source (not shown)for heating the rework area 20 to the desired temperature during thethermal survey or moisture removal process. The vacuum bag assembly 100may include a bagging film 116 covering the heating blanket 104 and maybe sealed to the upper surface 16 of the composite structure 10 by meansof sealant 122 tape. A vacuum probe 118 may extend from the bagging film116 to provide a means for evacuating volatiles, air and/or gas from therework area 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum bag assembly 100 may comprise a caulplate 102 positioned above a non-porous parting film 108 (e.g., peelply) to facilitate the application of uniform pressure to the patch 40.The parting film may prevent adhesion of the caul plate 102 to layersdirectly below the caul plate 102. The parting film may, in turn, bepositioned over a porous bleeder layer 112 which may be positioned overa porous parting film 110 to facilitate the escape of volatiles duringthe bonding of the patch 40 to the composite structure 10. The patch 40may be received within the rework area 20 and may include a scarf 44formed on the patch edge 42 and substantially matching the scarf 24formed at a rework taper angle θ_(rework area) of the rework area 20.The surrogate patch body 52 may include a plurality of pliescorresponding to the plies 12 of the composite structure 10.

Referring to FIG. 4, shown is a surrogate patch assembly 50 as may beused for conducting a thermal survey and/or moisture removal from therework area 20 prior to final bonding of the patch to the rework area20. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the surrogate patch assembly 50 maycomprise a surrogate patch body 52 which may be formed of a material fordrawing moisture from the rework area 20. The material may comprise anon-composite material including natural and/or synthetic material suchas, without limitation, wool, cotton, silk, linen, polyester, nylon andacrylic and any other material or combination thereof. However, it isalso contemplated that embodiments of the surrogate patch body mayinclude composite material such as, without limitation, fiber-reinforcedpolymeric materials.

The surrogate patch assembly 50 may further include one or more sensorssuch as a thermal sensor 70 which may be mounted to the surrogate patchbody 52 for sensing temperature of the rework area 20 during a thermalsurvey. The sensor may also comprise a moisture sensor 74 for sensingmoisture that may be drawn from the rework area 20 into the surrogatepatch body 52 during the moisture removal process. The thermal sensor 70may comprise any suitable temperature measuring instrumentationincluding, but not limited to, thermocouples 72 and any other suitableelements for sensing the temperature of the rework area 20 and/or thesurrogate patch body 52.

As was indicated above, the surrogate patch body 52 of the surrogatepatch assembly 50 is preferably formed of a material that possessesthermal properties similar to the composite material from which thefinal patch 40 (FIG. 3) is formed. In this regard, the surrogate patchbody 52 is preferably formed of a material that has a specific heatcapacity and/or a thermal conductivity that is substantially equivalentto the specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity of the patch. Thethermal conductivity of the patch is preferably measured in thetransverse out-of-plane direction in order to simulate the directionalong which heat may flow during the repair process.

The patch 40 (FIG. 3), in an embodiment, may be fabricated from epoxypre-impregnated carbon fiber tape and/or fabric. However, the compositematerial from which the patch may be formed may comprise any suitablepre-impregnated or wet layup composite material and is not limited tothe materials disclosed herein. The specific heat capacity, thermalconductivity and other thermal properties of the composite material arepreferably those properties exhibited by the composite material whenfully cured and at a specific or certain fiber volume content anddensity. For the above-mentioned epoxy pre-impregnated carbon fiber tapematerial having a fiber volume content of 0.56 and a density of 5.64E-2lb/in³, the thermal properties may comprise a thermal conductivity inthe range of from approximately 0.01 W/mK to approximately 1.0 W/mKwherein such properties are measured at a temperature T₀ ofapproximately 20° C. (i.e., room temperature).

In this regard, the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of a materialhaving a thermal conductivity similar to the above mentioned range of0.01 W/mK to approximately 1.0 W/mK. In an embodiment, the thermalconductivity of the surrogate patch body 52 may be approximately 0.04W/mK. However, the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of a materialhaving any thermal conductivity which is complementary to orsubstantially equal to the thermal conductivity of the material fromwhich the patch 40 (FIG. 3) is formed. Advantageously, by forming thesurrogate patch body 52 of the material having a thermal conductivitythat is substantially similar to the thermal conductivity of thecomposite material of the patch, the heating characteristics of thepatch may be substantially duplicated without the need for fabricating aconventional surrogate patch of individually-cut composite plies asdescribed above. In this regard, the expense and time normallyassociated with conventional surrogate composite patches can besubstantially reduced.

The surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of a material which may have aspecific heat capacity that is preferably in the range of the specificheat capacity of the composite material from which the patch 40 (FIG. 3)may be formed. For example, the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed ofmaterial having a specific heat capacity in the range of fromapproximately 600 J/(kgK) to approximately 1100 J/(kgK) and preferablyapproximately 830 J/(kgK) measured at a temperature T₀ of approximately273K (i.e., room temperature). As was indicated above, such specificheat capacity and thermal conductivity represent the specific heatcapacity and thermal conductivity of the epoxy pre-impregnated carbonfiber tape and/or fabric from which the patch may be formed and are notto be construed as limiting alternative thermal properties of thesurrogate patch assembly 50.

Referring still to FIG. 4, in an embodiment, the surrogate patch body 52material may be formed of natural or synthetic material or anycombination thereof. For example, the material from which the surrogatepatch body 52 may be formed may comprise wool, cotton, silk, linen,polyester, nylon and acrylic or any other suitable material which maysubstantially duplicate the thermal properties (i.e., specific heatcapacity and thermal conductivity) of the material from which the finalpatch may be formed. In one embodiment, the material may comprise anon-woven material or fabric which may be comprised of bonded fibers.For example, the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of felt due toits favorable wicking properties and favorable thermal insulatingproperties. The wicking properties of felt are such that fluid may bedrawn away from the rework area 20 and into the surrogate patch body 52due to capillary action in the felt material. The thermal conductivityof wool felt, in an embodiment, is approximately 0.04 W/mK which may becompatible with the thermal conductivity of composite materials fromwhich the patch may be formed.

Although the surrogate patch body 52 may preferably be formed of felt,the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of any suitable material thatmay draw moisture from the rework area 20 when the surrogate patch body52 is placed into contact therewith. For example, the surrogate patchbody 52 may be formed of alternative materials such as woven materialshaving high absorbency at elevated temperatures similar to the curingtemperatures associated with composite repair. In this regard, thesurrogate patch body 52 material is preferably such that heat such asfrom a heating blanket 104 penetrates the thickness of the surrogatepatch body 52 to facilitate an accurate measurement of the temperatureat the bondline 48 between the surrogate patch body 52 and the reworkarea 20.

Referring still to FIG. 4, the surrogate patch body 52 may be formed ofa plurality of layers 60 which may be arranged in stacked formation. Thepatch assembly layers 60 may be formed such that the layer edges 62collectively define a taper angle which is substantially similar to therework taper angle θ_(rework area) as illustrated in FIG. 4. Althoughshown as having a generally tapered arrangement wherein the layers 60are of a decreasing width and/or diameter, the layers 60 of thesurrogate patch body 52 may be of substantially equivalent width suchthat when the layers 60 are assembled in the stacked arrangement, thelayer edges 62 are in substantial alignment with one another. In thisregard, the assembled surrogate patch body 52 may comprise the pluralityof layers 60 that may be received within the rework area 20.

In FIG. 4, the surrogate patch assembly 50 may be separated from therework area 20 by a parting film which may be a non-porous parting film108 or a porous parting film 110. The surrogate patch assembly 50 mayinclude one or more thermal sensors 70 mounted at strategic locations onthe rework area 20 in order to monitor temperatures at such locations ofthe rework area 20 during the application of heat. As part of aconventional thermal survey, thermal sensors 70 such as thermocouples 72may be installed at a bottom center 26 of the rework area 20 and on ataper of the boundary 22 of the rework area 20 in order to monitor thetemperature profile. Likewise, the surrogate patch body 52 may includeone or more thermal sensors 70 in order to measure temperatures duringthe thermal survey.

For example, the surrogate patch body 52 may include a thermal sensor 70mounted on a top surface 54 such as at a center thereof as illustratedin FIG. 4. A thermal sensor 70 may also be mounted within the surrogatepatch body 52 such as between the top and bottom surfaces 54, 56. Inthis regard, fabrication of the surrogate patch body 52 as a stack oflayers 60 may facilitate installation of thermal sensors 70 at differentlocations within the surrogate patch body 52. The thermal sensors 70 mayalso be arranged along a perimeter 58 of the surrogate patch body 52.The sensors may be attached to the surrogate patch body 52 by anysuitable means including, but not limited to, bonding and mechanicalattachment. Notably, the thermal sensors 70 may be mounted at anylocation within the rework area 20 such as on the rework area 20 scarf24 or at the bottom center 26 of the rework area 20 or at locations thatare opposite the location of heat sinks such as the stringer 30 that mayat least partially overlap a portion of the rework area 20.

The surrogate patch assembly 50 may further include the moisture sensors74 for sensing the presence of moisture and/or the relative content ofmoisture which may be contained within the rework area 20. The moisturesensors 74, in an embodiment, may comprise conventional moisturedetection strips such as, without limitation, cobalt chloride moisturedetection strips or other chemical composition moisture detection stripswhich may change color in the presence of a sufficiently high level ofmoisture or water. However, any suitable sensor configuration fordetecting the presence of moisture such as water may be implemented intothe surrogate patch assembly 50. For example, the moisture sensor 74 maycomprise sensors which operate using electrochemical impedancespectroscopy (EIS) or any other suitable sensing technology. Themoisture sensors 74 may be selectively configured to provide anindication (e.g., a visual indication) regarding the presence ofmoisture in the surrogate patch body 52 which may be drawn from therework area 20. Such moisture may be drawn from the rework area 20 whenthe surrogate patch body 52 is in contact therewith and/or during theapplication of heat. The moisture sensors 74 are preferably mounted in asuitable arrangement on the surrogate patch body 52 such as in spacedrelation to one another along the top surface 54 of the surrogate patchbody 52 as illustrated in FIG. 6 and described in greater detail below.

Referring to FIG. 5, shown is the surrogate patch assembly 50 whereinthe surrogate patch body 52 is provided in an embodiment comprising aunitary structure of a single layer or ply as opposed to the arrangementof layers 60 illustrated in FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, the surrogate patch body52 may be formed as a thickness that approximates the thickness of therework area 20 into which the surrogate patch body 52 is received.Furthermore, the perimeter 58 of the surrogate patch body 52 may includea scarf 64 formed at a patch taper angle θ_(surrogate) which ispreferably complementary to the rework taper angle θ_(rework area) suchthat the surrogate patch body 52 is received in intimate contact withthe rework area 20. As was indicated earlier, the surrogate patch body52 may be separated from the rework area 20 by porous or non-porousparting film 108 such as fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) or othersimilar heat resistant and/or non-sticking material to allow release ofthe surrogate patch body 52 from the rework area 20 following completionof the thermal survey and/or moisture removal process. As can be seen inFIG. 5, the thermal sensors 70 may be mounted to the rework area 20 inthe areas noted as well as in areas adjacent to the rework area 20 andmay be coupled to instrumentation (not shown) such as a data acquisitionsystem (not shown) by means of sensor wiring 76 or by wireless means.Likewise, the thermal sensors 70 and/or moisture sensors 74 mounted onthe surrogate patch body 52 may be coupled to instrumentation by meansof sensor wiring 76 to facilitate measuring and recording of temperatureand/or moisture within the surrogate patch body 52.

Referring to FIG. 6, shown is a plan view of an installation ofthermocouples 72 and/or moisture sensors 74 on the surrogate patch body52 and on the composite structure 10 adjacent to the rework area 20. Ascan be seen, thermal sensors 70 may be located on the top surface 54 ofthe composite structure 10 opposite the stringer 30 which may draw heataway from the rework area 20. The thermal sensors 70 may provide a meansfor monitoring temperature to indicate that insulation may be requiredon the stringer 30 or that separate heating of the stringer 30 or areasadjacent thereto may be required in order to heat up the rework area 20at the desired rate and maintain the patch within the desiredtemperature range. As can be seen, the surrogate patch body 52 mayinclude one or more moisture sensors 74 such as the moisture sensor 74located at the center of the surrogate patch body 52. However, moisturesensors 74 may be distributed along the top surface 54 of the surrogatepatch body 52 to facilitate the identification of areas in the reworkarea 20 from which moisture is drawn. The thermal sensors 70 and/ormoisture sensors 74 may provide data regarding a thermal profile and/ormoisture profile of the rework area 20.

Referring to FIG. 7, shown is the surrogate patch system 48 which maycomprise the surrogate patch assembly 50 and which may further include avacuum bag assembly 100 comprising a bagging film 116 enveloping aheating blanket 104 which may cover the patch assembly when installedwithin the rework area 20. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the surrogate patchbody 52 may be separated from the rework area 20 by means of the porousand/or non-porous parting film 110, 108 depending on whether the thermalsurvey may include a moisture removal process. As mentioned above, thesurrogate patch assembly 50 as disclosed herein provides a means forcombining the thermal survey and moisture removal such that a singleheat cycle is imposed on the composite structure 10. The vacuum bagassembly 100 can be seen as including the bagging film 116 which may besealed to the top surface 54 of the composite structure 10 by means ofsealant 122 such as tape sealant 122 conventionally used in vacuumbagging operations.

The bagging film 116 may envelope a breather layer 114 which may cover aheating blanket 104 and which may extend on one or both sides of theheating blanket 104 to the sealant 122 area. The breather layer 114 mayextend underneath a vacuum probe 118 which may be disposed on a side ofthe heating blanket 104 in order to facilitate the substantially uniformapplication of vacuum pressure on the surrogate patch body 52 during thethermal cycling and/or moisture removal process. A caul plate 102 may bepositioned underneath the heating blanket 104 in order to provideuniform application of pressure to the surrogate patch body 52. The caulplate 102 may be formed of any suitable rigid or semi-rigid materialincluding, but not limited to, a rubber caul material such as curedsilicon rubber sheet and/or a metallic material or any combination ofmetallic and nonmetallic materials. The caul plate 102 may be separatedfrom the surrogate patch body 52 by means of the parting film which maybe formed of any suitable material for preventing adhesion or contact ofthe caul plate 102 with the rework area 20 and/or surrogate patch body52. For example, the parting film may be perforated (i.e., porous) ornon-perforated (i.e., non-porous) and may be formed of any suitablematerial including fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), or any othersuitable material.

Referring to FIG. 8, shown is a cross-sectional illustration of thesurrogate patch body 52 having the vacuum bag mounted thereto withoutthe heating blanket 104. Such an arrangement may be implemented during amoisture removal process. Optionally, the assembly may be installed inan oven or autoclave to facilitate the application of heat to thecomposite structure 10. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the vacuum bagincludes the vacuum probe 118 for drawing gasses out of the areaenveloped by the bagging film 116. A vacuum gauge 120 on an oppositeside of the vacuum bag assembly 100 provides a means for monitoringvacuum pressure within the vacuum bag. The surrogate patch body 52 canbe seen as having a substantially uniform thickness.

The surrogate patch body 52 may be formed of any one of theabove-mentioned materials. In this regard, the surrogate patch body 52may be formed of a flexibly resilient material capable of conforming tothe contour or shape of the rework area 20 in three-dimensions. Theperimeter 58 of the surrogate patch body 52 can be seen as conforming orpartially compressing under pressure from the vacuum bag. The surrogatepatch body 52 may be separated from the bagging film 116 by a breatherlayer 114 to allow for the escape of moisture. The surrogate patch body52 may be separated from the rework area 20 by means of a porous partingfilm 108 to prevent contact therebetween while allowing moisture toescape from the rework area 20. Thermocouples 72 or other thermalsensors 70 may be installed at strategic locations within the reworkarea 20 as illustrated in FIG. 8 and described above. Likewise, thesurrogate patch body 52 may include thermal sensors 70 and/or moisturesensors 74 at locations along the surrogate patch body 52 for monitoringtemperature and moisture removal.

Referring briefly to FIG. 9, shown is a block diagram illustrating asurrogate patch system 48 as may be used for conducting a thermal surveyand/or a moisture removal process. As can be seen in FIG. 9, thesurrogate patch system 48 may comprise a vacuum bag assembly 100 whichmay include a bagging film 116 mounted to the structure 10 by means ofsealant 122. The bagging film 116 may envelope a number of layers suchas a breather layer 114, heating blanket 104, caul plate 102, bleederlayer 112, parting film 108, 110, as well as the surrogate patchassembly 50 comprising the surrogate patch body 52. The surrogate patchbody 52 may have a patch center 68 and a perimeter 58. One or moresensors such as moisture sensors 74 or thermal sensors 70 (i.e.,thermocouples 72) may be mounted to the surrogate patch body 52 such asalong the perimeter 58 and/or patch center 68 or embedded within thesurrogate patch body 52. The surrogate patch body 52 may be mounted inthe rework area 20 and may be separated therefrom by means of theparting film. The rework area 20 may be formed in the structure 10 suchas along an upper surface 16 thereof. The rework area 20 may include thebottom center 26 within which a sensor such as a moisture sensor 74and/or a thermal sensor 70 (i.e., thermocouple) may be mounted.Likewise, one or more sensors such as thermal sensors 70 may be mountedon a scarf 24 of the rework area 20. Likewise, the upper surface 16 ofthe structure 10 surrounding the rework area 20 may include thermalsensors 70 such as thermocouples 72 in order to identify temperaturevariations that may occur as a result of heat drawn from the rework area20 by heat sinks 28 such as stringers 30.

Referring to FIG. 10, shown is an illustration of a flow diagram for amethodology for repairing a structure such as a composite structurehaving a rework area. The structure may include upper and lower surfacesand may include at least one heat sink which may be disposed at alocation relative to the rework area such as on a lower surface of thestructure adjacent to the rework area. The method may comprise step 200including forming the surrogate patch body which may optionally beformed and shaped complementary to the shape of the rework area. Forexample, the surrogate patch body may be formed of woven or non-wovenmaterial for drawing moisture from the rework area. The surrogate patchbody may have top and bottom surfaces and is preferably formed of amaterial for drawing moisture from the rework area such as during amoisture removal process. Furthermore, the surrogate patch bodypreferably has thermal properties that are substantially similar to orcomplementary to the thermal properties of composite material from whichthe final patch may be formed.

For example, the surrogate patch body may have a specific heat capacityand/or a thermal conductivity that is substantially equivalent to aspecific heat capacity and/or thermal conductivity of epoxypre-impregnated carbon fiber tape and fabric. However, the thermalproperties of the composite material may comprise thermal properties ofany composite material and are not limited to epoxy prepregs or carbonfiber tapes but may include non-pre-impregnated and/or wet layupmaterial systems. As described above, the surrogate patch body mayinclude at least one thermal sensor which may be mounted on thesurrogate patch body on the top surface, the bottom surface or which maybe embedded within the surrogate patch body or any combination of theabove. The surrogate patch body may further include at least onemoisture sensor which may be mounted on the surrogate patch body at anylocation such as on a patch center or along a perimeter of the surrogatepatch body or a combination of such locations.

Referring still to FIG. 10, step 202 may comprise mounting one or morethermal sensors on the surrogate patch body for sensing the temperatureof the rework area and/or the surrogate patch body. For example, thermalsensors such as, without limitation, thermocouples may be mounted on thetop and/or bottom surfaces of the surrogate patch body. Thermal sensorsmay optionally be embedded within the surrogate patch body as isillustrated in FIG. 4 and described above. Thermal sensors on the bottomsurface of the surrogate patch body may monitor the temperature of therework area and/or the temperature of the surrogate patch body. Step 204may comprise mounting one or more moisture sensors on the surrogatepatch body for sensing moisture that may be drawn from the rework areainto the surrogate patch body. In this regard, the surrogate patch bodymay be formed of any material having a relatively highmoisture-absorbing capability as indicated above. In this regard, thesurrogate patch body may be formed of materials having relatively highabsorbency at the elevated temperatures associated with processing ofcomposite materials.

Referring still to FIG. 10, step 206 may include mounting one or morethermal sensors on the upper surface of the composite structure. Forexample, thermal sensors may be mounted on the upper surface of thecomposite structure opposite the location of one or more heat sinkswhich may be disposed adjacent to the bottom surface of the compositestructure or at any location on the upper surface. Step 208 may comprisemounting one or more of the thermal sensors in the rework area such asin the bottom center of the rework area and/or on the scarf (i.e., taperangle) of the rework area for monitoring temperatures in the reworkarea. Step 210 in the methodology of repairing the structure may includecovering the rework area with a porous parting film such as fluorinatedethylene propylene (FEP) or any other suitable film material forpreventing contact of the surrogate patch body with the compositestructure and rework area. However, it is contemplated that the materialfrom which the surrogate patch body is formed may obviate the need for aparting film.

Step 212 may include installing the surrogate patch assembly into therework area such as on top of the porous and/or non-porous parting film.For example, the surrogate patch may be installed in a mannerillustrated in FIG. 8 wherein the surrogate patch body may be formed asa substantially constant thickness unitary or single-layer structurewhich is substantially conformable to the shape and/or contour of therework area. Alternatively, the surrogate patch body may be formed of aplurality of layers arranged in stacked formation as illustrated in FIG.4 and wherein the layers of material which make up the surrogate patchbody are conformable or resiliently flexible or compressible in order toallow for conforming the surrogate patch body to the contour or shape ofthe rework area.

Referring still to FIG. 10, step 214 of the methodology may furtherinclude covering the surrogate patch body and rework area with abreather layer to facilitate the substantially uniform application ofvacuum pressure to the surrogate patch body. The method may furtherinclude the step of installing a heating blanket or other suitableheating equipment in step 216 and as is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8.The heating blanket may facilitate the heating of the rework area andthe surrogate patch body during the thermal survey and/or during themoisture removal process. A caul plate 102 (FIG. 7) may optionally beincluded between the breather layer and the heating blanket 104 asillustrated in FIG. 7 in order to provide uniform pressure distributionto the surrogate patch body.

Step 218 of FIG. 10 may comprise installing a breather layer over theheating blanket as illustrated in FIG. 7 followed by vacuum bagging instep 220 such that the surrogate patch body and heating blanket areenveloped by the bagging film which may be sealed to the top surface ofthe composite structure 10 as illustrated in FIG. 8. Vacuum may beapplied via the vacuum probe illustrated in FIG. 8 in order to draw avacuum on the bagging film which may be monitored by means of a vacuumgauge installed as illustrated in FIG. 8. Heat may be applied such as bythe heating blanket in step 222 during the drawing of the vacuum in step224 such that the thermal survey and/or moisture removal process may beperformed on the rework area in step 226.

The thermal survey process may be similar to that which isconventionally performed wherein the rework area may be heated and thetemperature monitored. Depending on the temperature measurements,insulation may be locally added to areas of the composite structure suchas adjacent to heat sinks or to other areas as indicated above in orderto attain substantial temperature uniformity throughout the bondline.The heating of the rework area may also be adjusted by adjusting theheating blanket during the thermal survey to attain substantialtemperature uniformity. The moisture removal process may compriseheating the rework area via the heating blanket and recording moisturedata provided by moisture sensors mounted within the surrogate patchbody. The moisture removal process may be performed prior to and/orduring the thermal survey. Advantageously, the surrogate patch bodyconfiguration may facilitate the performance of the thermal survey andthe moisture removal process in a manner that may eliminate anadditional heat cycle typically required in separate thermal survey andmoisture removal processes of conventional pre-repair operations.

In an embodiment, the moisture removal process may comprise weighing thesurrogate patch body prior to installation into the rework area. Uponthe completion of the thermal survey and/or moisture removal process,the surrogate patch body may again be weighed to determine the moistureabsorption level which may then be correlated to the moisture content ofthe rework area. More specifically, the moisture removal process maycomprise weighing the surrogate patch body prior to installing thesurrogate patch body into the rework area and vacuum bagging thesurrogate patch body. The method may include heating the rework areaafter drawing a vacuum on the bagging film. Alternatively, the heatingblanket may be omitted and the composite structure may be heated via anoven or in an autoclave. During heating, the temperature of the reworkarea may be monitored using data from the thermal sensors. The heatingmay result in drying (i.e., moisture removal) of the rework area of thecomposite structure. The surrogate patch body of the surrogate patchassembly may be removed from the rework area and may be weighed in orderto determine the amount of moisture drawn out of the rework area.

Referring to FIGS. 11-12, embodiments of the disclosure may be describedin the context of an aircraft manufacturing and service method 300 asshown in FIG. 11 and an aircraft 302 as shown in FIG. 12. Duringpre-production, exemplary method 300 may include specification anddesign 304 of the aircraft 302 and material procurement 306. Duringproduction, component and subassembly manufacturing 308 and systemintegration 310 of the aircraft 302 takes place. Thereafter, theaircraft 302 may go through certification and delivery 312 in order tobe placed in service 314. While in service by a customer, the aircraft302 is scheduled for routine maintenance and service 316 (which may alsoinclude modification, reconfiguration, refurbishment, and so on).

Each of the processes of method 300 may be performed or carried out by asystem integrator, a third party, and/or an operator (e.g., a customer).For the purposes of this description, a system integrator may includewithout limitation any number of aircraft manufacturers and major-systemsubcontractors; a third party may include without limitation any numberof vendors, subcontractors, and suppliers; and an operator may be anairline, leasing company, military entity, service organization, and soon.

As shown in FIG. 12, the aircraft 302 produced by exemplary method 300may include an airframe 318 with a plurality of systems 320 and aninterior 322. Examples of high-level systems 320 include one or more ofa propulsion system 324, an electrical system 326, a hydraulic system328, and an environmental system 330. Any number of other systems may beincluded. Although an aerospace example is shown, the principles of thedisclosed embodiments may be applied to other industries, such as theautomotive industry.

Apparatus and methods embodied herein may be employed during any one ormore of the stages of the production and service method 300. Forexample, components or subassemblies corresponding to production process308 may be fabricated or manufactured in a manner similar to componentsor subassemblies produced while the aircraft 302 is in service. Also,one or more apparatus embodiments, method embodiments, or a combinationthereof may be utilized during the production stages 308 and 310, forexample, by substantially expediting assembly of or reducing the cost ofan aircraft 302. Similarly, one or more of apparatus embodiments, methodembodiments, or a combination thereof may be utilized while the aircraft302 is in service, for example and without limitation, to maintenanceand service 316.

Additional modifications and improvements of the present disclosure maybe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the particularcombination of parts described and illustrated herein is intended torepresent only certain embodiments of the present disclosure and is notintended to serve as limitations of alternative embodiments or deviceswithin the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A surrogate patch assembly for a rework area of astructure, comprising: a surrogate patch body formed of a material fordrawing moisture from the rework area; and at least one sensor mountedto the surrogate patch body and being configured as one of thefollowing: a thermal sensor for sensing a temperature of at least one ofthe rework area and the surrogate patch body; and a moisture sensor forsensing moisture in the surrogate patch body.
 2. The surrogate patchassembly of claim 1 wherein: the moisture sensor comprises at least oneof a moisture detection strip and an electrochemical impedancespectroscopy (EIS) sensor.
 3. The surrogate patch assembly of claim 1wherein: the surrogate patch body includes a top surface having aplurality of moisture sensors mounted thereon.
 4. The surrogate patchassembly of claim 1 wherein: the surrogate patch body has top and bottomsurfaces, at least one of the sensors being mounted in one of thefollowing locations: the top surface, the bottom surface, embeddedwithin the surrogate patch body between the top and bottom surfaces. 5.The surrogate patch assembly of claim 1 wherein: the surrogate patchbody comprises a plurality of layers; at least one of the sensors beinginterposed between a pair of the layers.
 6. The surrogate patch assemblyof claim 1 wherein: the material comprises one of natural and syntheticmaterial including at least one of the following: wool, cotton, silk,linen, polyester, nylon, acrylic.
 7. The surrogate patch assembly ofclaim 6 wherein: the material comprises felt.
 8. The surrogate patchassembly of claim 1 wherein: the surrogate patch body is conformable inthree-dimensions such that the surrogate patch body is conformable tothe rework area.
 9. The surrogate patch assembly of claim 1 wherein: therework area is configured to receive a patch; the surrogate patch bodyhaving a specific heat capacity and a thermal conductivity that issubstantially equivalent to at least one of the specific heat capacityand thermal conductivity of the patch.
 10. The surrogate patch assemblyof claim 9 wherein: the surrogate patch body is formed of materialhaving a thermal conductivity in the range of from approximately 0.01W/mK to approximately 1.0 W/mK.
 11. The surrogate patch assembly ofclaim 9 wherein: the surrogate patch body is formed of material having aspecific heat capacity in the range of from approximately 600 J/(kgK) toapproximately 1100 J/(kgK).
 12. A surrogate patch assembly for a reworkarea of a composite structure, comprising: a surrogate patch body havingtop and bottom surfaces and defining a substantially uniform thickness,the surrogate patch body being formed of felt for drawing moisture fromthe rework area, the felt having a thermal conductivity of approximately0.01 to 1.0 W/mK and a specific heat capacity of approximately 600 to1100 J/(kgK); a plurality of thermal sensors mounted to the surrogatepatch body for sensing a temperature of the rework area and thesurrogate patch body, at least one of the thermal sensors being embeddedwithin the surrogate patch body between the top and bottom surfaces; anda plurality of moisture sensors mounted to the surrogate patch body onthe top surface for sensing moisture absorbed from the rework area. 13.A surrogate patch system for repairing a structure with a patchreceivable within a rework area, the system comprising: a surrogatepatch body formed of non-composite material having thermal propertiessubstantially similar to thermal properties of the patch, the thermalproperties comprising at least one of specific heat capacity and thermalconductivity; at least one thermal sensor mounted on the surrogate patchbody for sensing a temperature of the surrogate patch body; and at leastone thermal sensor mounted on the rework area for sensing a temperatureof the rework area.
 14. The surrogate patch system of claim 13 whereinthe surrogate patch body has at least one of the following thermalproperties: a thermal conductivity in the range of from approximately0.01 W/mK to approximately 1.0 W/mK; a specific heat capacity in therange of from approximately 600 J/(kgK) to approximately 1100 J/(kgK).15. The surrogate patch system of claim 13 wherein: the surrogate patchbody is formed of a material for drawing moisture from the rework area.16. The surrogate patch system of claim 13 wherein: the surrogate patchbody includes a plurality of moisture sensors mounted thereon.
 17. Thesurrogate patch system of claim 16 wherein: the surrogate patch bodycomprises a plurality of layers; at least one of the thermal sensor andmoisture sensors being interposed between a pair of the layers.
 18. Thesurrogate patch system of 13 wherein the structure includes upper andlower surfaces and having at least one heat sink mounted on the lowersurface adjacent to the rework area, the system further comprising: atleast one thermal sensor mounted on the upper surface opposite thelocation of the heat sink on the bottom surface.
 19. A method ofrepairing a composite structure comprised of a plurality of plies, thestructure having upper and lower surfaces, the upper surface including arework area for receiving a patch, the lower surface having at least oneheat sink disposed thereon, the method comprising the steps of: forminga surrogate patch body of material for drawing moisture from the reworkarea, the surrogate patch body having a specific heat capacity and athermal conductivity substantially similar to the specific heat capacityand thermal conductivity of the patch; mounting a thermal sensor on thesurrogate patch body for sensing a temperature of at least one of therework area and the surrogate patch body; mounting a moisture sensor onthe surrogate patch body for sensing moisture drawn from the reworkarea; mounting a thermal sensor on the upper surface of the compositestructure opposite a location of the heat sink on the lower surface;mounting a thermal sensor in at least one of a bottom center and a scarfof the rework area; covering the rework area with a porous parting film;installing the surrogate patch body in the rework area over the partingfilm; covering the surrogate patch body with a breather layer;installing a heating blanket over the breather layer; installing abreather layer over the heating blanket; vacuum bagging the surrogatepatch body and heating blanket with a bagging film; heating the reworkarea; drawing a vacuum on the bagging film; and performing at least oneof the following: conducting a thermal survey of the rework area;removing moisture from the rework area.